11:07am Friday 23rd July 2010
By Warwick Payne
THE Countess of Wessex opened an exhibition in Winchester of paintings and other works produced by foot and mouth artists.
No fewer than 20 of the painters came to the event, including Tom Yendell, who runs the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists’ gallery in Selborne near Alton.
The countess met the exhibitors and was joined at the launch by Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Dame Mary Fagan and Carol Laversha, who chairs Hampshire County Council.
The other artists at the show included Alison Lapper, whose sculpture by Marc Quinn occupied the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square for a while, and Leanne Beetham, whose work has been bought by author, Frederick Forsyth.
Ruth Christensen, a member of the international MFPA board of directors, presented the Countess with a book called Art For Life, which includes works by 30 of its artists.
The royal visitor also met Shannon Scantlebury-Cameron from Treloar’s School in Alton who won the Ba-art contest for young disabled artists.
The exhibition at the Great Hall in Winchester ran for one week, and has since closed. But more information about the group that organises it is available at www.mfpa.co.uk.
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